Wednesday, October 19

There is no doubt in my mind that homeschooling allows parents to place a wonderful godly foundation into the lives of their children. It is a wonderful gift that we can give our children as we can freely talk about God in any subject area of their schooling. As they memorize Scripture and come to know God's Word through their studies, their knowledge of who God is deepens. Yet, this morning I was reminded of the hollowness that can be there.....

"These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men." ~ Matthew 13:8-9 (see Isaiah 29:13, also)

As parents, all we see are the outsides of our children. We can even go through a checklist of all the things we see as positives in their faith in God. Yet, we as parents cannot see their hearts and can so easily be deceived by what we see on the outside. Only God sees the heart.....

"But the LORD said to Samuel, 'Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.'" ~ First Samuel 16:7

We can continually pour knowledge about God into their lives which is a wonderful and honorable thing, but if their little hearts within remain unchanged it is meaningless.

We cannot change their hearts, only God can.

As I consider how much darker the world around us is getting, my heart pleads with those of you who are in the midst of parenting to get on your knees and tap into the power of prayer for your children. Pray for the Holy Spirit to work in the hearts of your children as they recognize the work Jesus Christ did on the cross for them to become their Lord and Savior. This will allow them to grow in their love for their Heavenly Father and give them the ability to use all their knowledge about God to spread His love, forgiveness, and hope in the world around them.

Truly, your prayers have much more influence and power than all the knowledge in the world. Use prayer OFTEN and trust God to do His work in heart changing so that the inside matches the outside!

If you have other glimpses you'd like to share, please drop me a note at: tam.gardening@yahoo.com

gardening goals

"Cultivate faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love in your children. For if they are growing in these qualities, they won't be ineffective or unproductive, and they will never stumble." - paraphrase of II Peter 1:5-10 from "Hugs for the Heart"